Freedom Japanese Market is a subscription of “Japanese candies and snacks [that] are pre-selected for each month’s box, with each month offering a new combination of popular, rare, and Japanese exclusive candies and snacks.” There are three sizes offered: Puchi Pack, Original Pack, and Family Pack.
This box was sent to us for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
This review is for the $24.99/month Original Pack.
The Subscription Box: Freedom Japanese Market
The Cost: The Original Pack (reviewed here) for $24.99. There is also a Puchi Pack at $14.99 per month and a Family Pack for $45.99 per month. A price break is offered for 3, 6, or 12-month prepaid subscriptions.
The Products: The Original Pack is the “perfect box of treats from the land of the rising sun.” Each month, you will receive 12-16 full and sample-size snacks (includes a DIY candy kit), 1 handmade origami. A content list with pictures is included in the pack.
Ships to: Free worldwide shipping directly from Japan!
Good to know: The box ships around the 15th of the month. The shipping time estimate is between 10 and 20 days.
Check out more sweets subscription boxes in the Food Subscription Box Directory!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
All the snacks are sent directly from Japan so all the labels are in Japanese, of course. Freedom Japanese Market sends a list of the contents with a brief description in English. I wish they would translate for us when there are instructions that require water or with some of the DIY items, though.
Pizza Umaibo – “Crispy puffed corn flavored like a tasty cheese pizza.”
Cira liked this one, but the pizza Umaibo isn’t my favorite. I liked the cheese-flavored one from the last box much better. These are light and fluffy snacks with a bold (but not in your face) cheese flavor.
Sono Manma Peach – “One of these peach gumballs is super sour…”
The peach flavor of this gum is delightful, and luckily I didn’t get the super-sour piece. Cira ate the sour one and had to spit it out it. She normally loves sour candy, so that gum must have been incredibly sour!
Salad Umaibo – “Puffed corn with just the right amount of salt.”
This is our favorite Umaibo to date! I thought the cheese was my favorite, but Cira and I fought over this snack. Sorry about not showing the item on this one – we must have liked it so much I forgot to take a picture of it.
Banana Man – “Banana flavored marshmallow with a chocolate center.”
This tastes exactly how you’d think it would. I would have liked a bit more chocolate in the mix. Cira didn’t like this much, but I think she may not like banana-flavored candy.
Caramel Corn – “Vanilla ice cream flavored curls of puffed corn. Summer exclusive!”
We had one of these in another box, and it is really good. It is sweet puffed corn, and while I liked it, Cira wasn’t a fan. More for me!
Konpeito – “A traditional Japanese sweet! Colorful balls of sugar.”
The description for these candies is spot on. These taste like a hard ball of sugar. I didn’t like them at all, but kids love sugar, so Cira ate them.
Yakiniku Texas Corn – “Crispy puffed corn with the taste of yakinku (Korean BBQ).”
We all liked these beef-flavored corn puffs. Cira said they tasted like the slightly sweet beef tongue appetizer we had at a Japanese restaurant the night before. My husband and daughter are adventurous eaters!
Mike Popcorn – “A summer exclusive flavor; lemon and pepper popcorn!”
I’m a popcorn connoisseur, but this flavor was difficult for me to like. I enjoy lemon-pepper-flavored snacks, but the flavor doesn't work on popcorn. My daughter didn’t love it either, but my husband did.
Karappa – “Corn puff rings with the taste of yakisoba (fried soba noodles).”
This is definitely a differently flavor, and I certainly cannot describe the taste (except that it is different than anything I’ve had before). I liked this snack enough to eat it, but I probably wouldn’t buy it in the store.
Minivita C – “Get your daily dose of Vitamin C with these mini hard candies.”
You’d think this candy would taste citrusy, but it doesn’t. There is a slight flavor, but it is very subtle. It’s was just okay for us.
Nericcho Soft – “Make your own tiny strawberry ice creams with this fun DIY kit.”
So this is what happens when you add too much water to this DIY kit—the candy goes right through the cone! Cira loves these little DIY kits, and even though the candy was watered down, she ate it all anyway. The strawberry flavor was really good.
Bin Ramune – “Stick a straw in the bottom of the ramune bottle and eat the powder.”
Cira loved this! It was fun to drink the powdered, flavored candy out of a cone with a straw. The flavor was good too.
Awa Moko Moko – “Just add water! Drink this melon flavored candy straight out of the bag or pour it into a glass.”
Where is the fun in drinking this out of a glass? Cira drank this right out of the bag, but it almost overflowed since it kept growing in size. It is super sweet, a little fizzy, and very strawberry-ish.
Freedom Japanese Market includes a handmade origami with every box. This month there is a tie in tribute to all the dads for Father’s Day.
VERDICT: We really enjoy receiving Freedom Japanese Market! We’re adventurous eaters, and we love trying foods from other countries, so this is a great box for us. Typically, we eat the entire box in the span of a few days, but this box had a lot of sweets in it, so it took longer than usual. We’ve had a better mix of snacks overall in past boxes, but we understand not every box is going to please every customer, and we’re fine with that. I have no idea what these snacks cost in Japan, but I think we get a lot of snacks for $24.99. The price seems fair considering there is no way I could find anything like this where I live, and we really enjoy trying new things.
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